Guild Wars 2

Is it fair to say that Sylvari have the least effective racials in the game?

Or could you provide examples where Sylvari racials provide any sort of advantage or are desirable in some fashion?

take root is probably the best best racial elite in the game- I remade 2 classes as Sylvari’s just so I could have it
I use it on 5 of my characters.
it gives you 3 sec invulnerability and sprouts a bunch of turrets- I cannot count the amount of times it has saved my bacon

Just curious – in what context do you use that? (PvE? WvW? etc.)

Isnt take root a worse version of the ranger elite entangle?

Also the human Hounds of Balthazar is the best racial in the game. Even as a mesmer with the best elite in the game, I still consider it as a viable option and will switch in some situations.

Rainbow Sprint.3215:

Isnt take root a worse version of the ranger elite entangle?

Also the human Hounds of Balthazar is the best racial in the game. Even as a mesmer with the best elite in the game, I still consider it as a viable option and will switch in some situations.

Take Root gives you 3 seconds of invulnerability and spawns a bunch of seed turrets nearby. Entangle immobilizes all nearby enemies with destroyable vines. Not sure how those are even remotely similar, though the Sylvari racial utility Grasping Vines is basically a single-target version of Entangle (minus bleeds), so maybe that’s what you’re thinking of.

I don’t think the Sylvari racials are that bad other than Healing Seed (which is mostly bad because it dies so easily). Seed Turret isn’t super strong or anything, but it does have crazy range (1500) so you can usually place it up on inaccessible cliffs or something to keep it alive from most non-ranged enemies, and then its just a bit of bonus damage. Grasping Vines can be handy on classes that don’t have many immobilize skills. They aren’t mind-blowingly great, but most racials aren’t.

As for elites… Take Root is pretty good. Better than some of the profession elites really. The other 2 are pretty meh, though.

Summon Druid spirit would be so much better if it drew conditions in a much faster interval. It only does it like once per summon, if that. And grants regen like once per summon, if that. It does its attack well though.

I’ve been thinking the same as you, before I found some uses to these skills. Now I don’t regret that I’m Sylvari.

Take Rook – I have used it a lot during Marionette LW event. I have started on the second lane. When we entered, I was always trying to go in first so I could aggro the warden first. Then I used Mist Form and waited for him to come, lay a bomb under me and detonate it immediatelly getting stuned. Then after the first stun, I did the same with Take Root. It was really helpful to kill him fast.

Summon Druid Spirit – this one is really useful in some situations. It immobilizes every hostile target around. I’m using it in:
- Volcanic Fractal – phase where we have to stop grawls from killing hostages while throwing rocks on the grawl shaman. Additional immobilize helps a lot, especially when 2 grawls spawns.
- Thoumanova Reactor – Ooze boss, I’m pushing the Ooze back and using all immobilizes to prevent him from eating the asura, so we can nuke him before he can start blocking attacks and summoning small oozes. 2 druids in party can make this trick really easy.
- WvW random duels (I’m not playing WvW usually, because I don’t like this mode, but I’m going to the arena in Obsidian Sanctum from time to time) – it makes staff ele really good for PVP, it helps a lot to catch enemy in place so I can cast some spells under him.

- Fern Hound isn’t really usefull (at least for elementalists, it’s better to use elemental).

I use take root in PvE.
it has various use on different classes- I use it to pull, for the invulnerability, as extra dps, distraction you name it.
Identically I do have hounds on my human Mesmer but I still prefer take root

Take Root is good (the plantd ate rather aggressive though, they even attack yellows and whites). I wonder how good Healing Seed would be on elementalist if you trait for condi removal on regen.

I use take root in WvW quite often. You can make an enemy zerg blow a lot of cooldowns for nothing, then GTFO while leaving a bunch of turrets behind. The turrets don’t do much damage, but they add to the confusion.

Personally, I think sylvari possibly have the best…

Grasping Vines is indeed a worse version of Entangle, but look at it another way – it’s effectively an elite skill in a utility slot, has a third the recharge, half the duration, and only strikes a single target. There are often better things to put in utility slots, but an eight second immobilise is still useful to have as an option.

Seed Turret can be used either for a bit of extra DPS if placed in a safish spot, or as a distraction.

Healing Seed’s main problem is that in most situations where you want it, it dies in about two seconds. (Tried it with an elementalist with the trait, incidentally, but the results were inconclusive. Might have to experiment again in more controlled circumstances)

Take Root is awesome. Use it to buy some invulnerability, use it to generate five turrets to lay waste to your surroundings. It isn’t always in my final build, but it’s usually the first elite skill not usable underwater I take with sylvari characters.

Summon Fern Hound I haven’t used much, but it is an elite with a 33% uptime if not killed – only the flesh golem and Glyph of Elementals do better as a long-term elite companion.

Summon Druid Spirit I haven’t used in anger. Looking at it again, though, maybe I should. :o

Thing is, most races to me have skills which I just don’t see myself actually using in anger. There are some – Prayer to Dwayna on my guardian because that works out as more efficient if I’m not using the faster signet recharge trait, Call Wurm on my norn ranger because, well, wurm, charr racial elites on my charr warrior because I don’t think much of the warrior elites, and Hidden Pistol on a charr engineer because that offers what is effectively Unload as a 30-second toolbelt skill. Sylvari skills, though I can see potential in pretty much all of them.

draxynnic.3719:

Seed Turret can be used either for a bit of extra DPS if placed in a safish spot, or as a distraction.

Healing Seed’s main problem is that in most situations where you want it, it dies in about two seconds.

Indeed, Healing Seed saved me often times during the leveling up face to a veteran. It dies fast, but I used it as a decoy (it seems to always catch the aggro), or as a last stand ally when cornered. Before dying, it heals you a bit and grants you a few seconds of regen, all that you need to last more than your enemies. However, if you miscalculated, its rather important CD is killing. I’d have had a CD proportional to its up time!

Now, for prepared situations, it can be replaced by bundle turrets when you can afford them.

I’ve just discovered another use of sylvari skills.

Thoumanova Reactor Fractal – Ooze boss.
The ooze eats the asura at the beginning of the enouncter and then he uses a lot of skills. Before he eats asura, he can’t use any skills excapt summoning small oozes that heals him. As an elementalist, I stand on the asura and when the ooze spawns, I use Gust to push him back and:
Summon Druid Spirit – Immobilize every few seconds
Signet of Earth
Grasping Vines
Shockwave

With these skills I can keep Immobilize on him for really long time. With some help of party members it is possible to nuke him before he can reach the asura.